WACO, Texas — He had danced with his teammates, and dumped a bucket of ice water on the defensive coordinator, and then danced some more. But now Ahmad Dixon had gone too far. Somewhere amid the postgame scrum, a fan handed him a poster.

"R.I.P. OKLAHOMA"

The senior safety held it with both hands and waved it over his head as he bounced toward midfield, headed directly toward, well, the Sooners. When Baylor defensive coordinator Phil Bennett intercepted him – "Noooo!" – Dixon put down the sign. But the statement had already been made.

Baylor's 41-12 victory Thursday night against Oklahoma signified a reordering of the Big 12 hierarchy. After burying the team that dominated the league for more than a decade, the No. 5 Bears should be considered the favorite to win it. And maybe more.

The final score looked like Baylor rolled as usual. And after a very slow start, it did. The Bears piled up points and yards, almost like always. But the revelation in their first test of the season – and the reason they may have pushed their way into the BCS championship race – was Dixon and the defense.

"We were extremely potent," coach Art Briles said.

But for a change he wasn't describing quarterback Bryce Petty, who threw three touchdown passes and ran for two more, or reserve running back Shock Linwood, who piled up 182 yards after Lache Seastrunk and Glasco Martin were injured (just plug a new guy in, run the plays and watch 'em go). Briles meant the defense, which twice in the second quarter stuffed Oklahoma inside the Baylor 5, preventing the Sooners from taking a double-digit lead. That might have quenched the raucous atmosphere at Floyd Casey Stadium.

It might not have mattered anyway, given Baylor's potency on offense. Once the Bears got rolling, they put up plenty of points. But Oklahoma managed only 237 yards, including 87 rushing, and didn't score its only touchdown until late in the third quarter, long after Baylor had pulled away.

Even after what Bennett called his defense's best performance during the Bears' 12-game winning streak, they won't be confused with, say, Alabama circa 2011. Then again, even Alabama might not be. Baylor's defense was more than good enough Thursday to provide the offense time to find a rhythm.

"We knew it could be one of those nights," Bennett said. "We knew if we could get some stops early, I've been around this offense long enough, you aren't gonna keep 'em down."

Oklahoma didn't. Petty scored from 5 yards out midway through the second quarter to give Baylor the lead again. The Bears scored two more touchdowns in the final minute of the first half – the second after an interception – to take a 24-5 lead into halftime. The rout was on, and it might be time to get rid of the "but," Bennett said, that typically comes whenever someone begins talking about Baylor.

"We're not a traditional (power)," he said, "but the way this thing is going, we're gonna be here a while. We're not going away."

The trajectory is upward, and the rise has been rapid. Two years ago, the Bears notched their first victory in the series against the Sooners, a fantastic finish engineered by Robert Griffin III on his way to the Heisman Trophy that was considered a turning point for the program. Thursday had a different vibe.

Floyd Casey Stadium, which had long been a hospitable environment for visitors, was sold out, including an end zone section that is usually tarped. Most of the crowd of 50,537 wore black, save for a few thousand Oklahoma fans. The mood was of celebration, even coronation.

"It was our first true test as far as the whole hype of the situation," Petty said.

They passed, and they've clearly passed Oklahoma in the Big 12. But where Baylor fits into the BCS championship race isn't clear. Currently ranked No. 6 in the BCS standings, the Bears averaged 63.9 points in rolling to a 7-0 record against a soft schedule. Even after the beatdown of the Sooners, who ranked 10th in the BCS, Briles said "zero" statement was made.

"We've played eight football games," he said. "Everything we've done we've earned it up to this point. Nobody's gonna believe it 'til we do it. I can sit here and jab my jaw and it doesn't mean anything unless you produce what you need to produce."

But Baylor should move up with No. 3 Oregon's loss, and could conceivably pass No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Stanford, if not by Sunday then sometime after. And for the remaining skeptics, Dixon has a message:

And he added: "I hope that (the victory) will change the outlook on our defense, and the outlook on our whole team."

Thursday's performance ought to help reshape the narrative. The perception is that the Bears' rise has been built on touchdowns, and plenty of them. But against Oklahoma, it was the lack of touchdowns that was telling. Apparently, when Briles was stockpiling all of those quarterbacks, receivers and running backs, he was also luring speedy defenders with bad attitudes.

Bennett has measured progress in his unit's regular work against the first-team defense – at least two practice periods each week, of 40-50 plays each. During the run-up to the Holiday Bowl last year, the defense began to catch up.

"We've finally got to where we can compete with 'em," Bennett said.

Stopping Oklahoma's inconsistent offense, then, was a much easier assignment. The Sooners couldn't seem to figure out what they wanted to do. Was it Blake Bell or Trevor Knight at quarterback? Were they running trick plays or passing or asking the quarterbacks to run? Whatever, none of it was very good.

But some of it was Baylor. The Bears swarmed to the ball. And they arrived with an edge, as exhibited late in the first quarter.

Senior cornerback K.J. Morton was flagged for targeting for his hit on Oklahoma receiver Sterling Shepard. When a replay review showed the blow was shoulder-to-shoulder, the automatic ejection was overturned. But in the aftermath Dixon, the Bears' emotional leader, was flagged for two additional penalties: unnecessary roughness and unsportsmanlike conduct. The penalties pushed Oklahoma from the Baylor 45 to a first down at the 7.

Bennett, a fairly emotional guy himself, almost came unglued yelling at his meteoric star. But moments later, during the break between the first and second quarters, he met Dixon on the sidelines and told him he wasn't angry.

"It's like arguing with your wife," Bennett said. "The makeup is really good – not that we're doing that."

From there, the Bears stuffed Bell on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Although Oklahoma sacked Petty in the end zone for a safety, then returned the free kick to the Baylor 12 – the Sooners came away with only a field goal and a brief lead by the odd score of 5-3.

What they did Thursday, according to Bennett, was to validate the defense, and from there the entire team.

"I do believe we can play with anybody in the country," Bennett said. "Time will tell."